Heat-insulating wall.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HEAT-INSULATIN G WALL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 23, 1908. Serial No. 4g2,s15.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLYDE J. COLEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Heat- Insulating Walls, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates generally to heat insulation and relates particularly to heat insulating walls and is especially adapted for heat insulating walls of refrigerator cars, but may be employed for other purposes such as in cold storage buildings and household refrigerators and the like.

The objects of-my invention are to secure highly effective heat insulation, flexibility in the heat insulating wall, and simplicity and economy of construction, and my invention also has other objects and advantages which will appear from the following de- SCIl tion.

y present invention is related in a general way to my former invention which is the subject of my application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 397,071, filed October 12, 1907, for heat. insulation, and this present invention is also generally related to two other of my inventions for which applications for Letters Patent are executed on even date herewith and are filed in the Patent- Office contemporaneously herewith, as Case 3 and Case 4:. My said inventions all employ an assemblage of vacuum inclosing bodies as a princi al part of the heat insulating construction. The high efficiency of a vacuum as a heat insulator has been long known, but prior to my said inventions no practical embodiment of the same has been made in heat insulating walls of any substantial size adapted to the uses above noted.

My present invention is directed to the production of aheat insulatin wall which may-be of any desired dimenslons and will have sufiicient flexibility to accommodate itself to any bending or twisting strains to which such a wall may be subjected in use. i To these ends my invention includes an assemblage of elongated vacuum inclosing bodies arranged transversely to the wall and with a low heat conductive filler for the interstices between the vacuum inclosing bodies.

My invention also includes a hermetically sealed envelop or box inclosing a group of the assembled vacuum inclosing bodies to protect them and the interposed filling from the same partly in section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section of one of the. vacuum inclosing cylinders or bodies. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same looking in an upward direction. Fig. 5 is a top or plan view on a reduced scale of a heat 1nsulating wall embodying my invention, the side supports of the wall being in horizontal section. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the wall shown in' Fig. 5 with the front plate or support omitted.

In the embodiment of myuinvention illustrated in the. drawings elongated vacuum inclosing cylinders 1 are compactly assembled in contact one with another and are arranged transversely of the wall and shown in the drawings as perpendicular thereto with a low heat conductive filler 2 filling the interstices between the cylinders, such filler consisting of fragmentary material such as disintegrated wool felt, which has been found very satisfactory for the purpose.

Cushioning plates 3 formed of sheets of heat insulating materialsuch as wool .felt are placed in contact with the opposite ends of the vacuum inclosin cylinders 1. A hermetically sealed inc osing envelop or box, shown as rectangular in form, surrounds and incloses a grou of assembled cylinders 1, including the lnterstitial filler 2 and the heat insulating cushioning plates 3. The 1nclosing envelop has metal sides 4, and edge or border portions 5, which extend transversely of the wall, of suitable low heat conductive material indicated in the drawlngs as wood. The metalsides 4. are shown as secured to. the wood border by screws. To effect an airtight and watertight seal of the envelop or box, a strip or border 6 of suitable flexible material such as waterproofed canvas or indurated fiber covers the wood edges 5 and'extends over the joint between the edge portion 5 and the metal sides 4 and is lapped down upon the latter as indicated in the drawings and is adherently secured in place in an airtight and watertight manner. The hermetically sealed envelop eflfectually protects its contents from air drafts and from moisture, particularly from moisture which could otherwise penetrate the heat insulating sheets 3 and the filler 2 and condense on the vacuum inclosing cylinders 1 and substantially reduce the heat insulation.

In assembling the vacuum inclosin cylinders 1 in the envelop or box, one of tie heat insulating cushioning plates 3 is first inserted through an open side of the envelop, and then the cylinders 1 are placed in position in contact one with another in their most compact arrangement (Fig. 2)? The filler 2 of wool felt is then inserted into and compacted in the interstitial spaces between the cylinders 1, and the remaining plate 3 is then placed in position on the ends of the cylinders, after which the open side of the envelop is closed by attaching the metal side 4 and is hermetically sealed by securing in place the border strip 6.

The vacuum inclosing cylinders 1 each comprise a vitreous pressure-resisting shell 7 (Figs. 3 and 4) and a cushioning sleeve 8 surrounding the shell 7 and adherently secured thereto, as with sizing. Thesleeve 8 is composed of low heat conductive material such as paper, and may be tissue paper, but is shown in the drawings as of exaggerated thickness for the sake of clearness. The

vitreous material of the shell 7 permits the shell to be sealed to inclose the vacuum, and such shells are indicated in the drawings as formed of glass.

One end of the shell 7 is shown as of hemispherical form and the other end is provided with a sealing tip which is located in a depression, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3, and rojects outwardly from the bottom of the ep'ression and is protected by a surrounding shoulder, forming the rim or border of the depression, so that it is out of the way and protected from injur To prevent the passage 0 radiant heat throu h the vacuum space and thus provide additional heat insulation, reflecting surfaces are provided for the shells 7, and such reflecting surfaces are secured by silvering the insides of the shells, but the silvering may be applied to the outsides or to both sides of the shells if desired.

The hermetically sealed envelop besides protecting its contents from moisture, forms therewith a heat insulating block'or box member 9 (Figs. 5 and 6) which is convenient of transportation and a number of which may conveniently laid up or assembled to form a heat insulating wall as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The blocks 9 are built up in a plurality of layers, shown as three, the members or blocks 9 of which overlap or break joints one with another transversely of the wall as shown in the drawings. Heat insulating gaskets 1O composed of any suitable material are interposed between the layers and also between the blocks or envelops in the layers. The boxes 9 are held in placein the wall by supports 11 and 12 (Fig. 5) of which the support 11 may be the wood outer siding and the sup ort 12 may be the ceiling or inner facing of the heat insulating wall of a refrigerator car or of a cold storage building or similar structure. I

The transverse arrangement in respect to the wall of the vacuum inclosing cylinders 1 gives great flexibility to the wall and for this reason and also because of the adaptability of the envelops or boxes .9 to this class of work my present invention is particularly well adapted for embodiment in refrigerator car construction, but is as well adapted for cold storage buildings and the like.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the construction shown and above particularly described within the principle and scope of my invention.-

I claim -1.'In a heat insulatin wall, a heat barrier comprising elongate vacuum inclosing bodies arranged transversely of'the wall, a low heat conductive filler interposed between the bodies, and a hermetically sealed envelop inclosing the bodies and the filler.

2. In a heat insulating wall, a heat barrier comprising vacuum inclosing cylinders arranged transversely of the wall and adjacent one with another, a low heat conductive filler filling the interstices between the cylinders, sheets of low heat conductive plates at the ends of the cylinders, and a hermetically sealed envelop inclosing the cylinders and the filler and the plates.

3. In a heat insulatin wall, a heat barrier comprising elongate vacuum inclosing bodies arran ed transversely of the wall, a low heat con uctive filler interposed between the bodies, a hermetically sealed envelop inclosing the bodiesand the filler, such envelop bein composed of low heat conductive mashell composed of vitreousmateria and proing shoulder.

6. A vacuum inclosing unit for heat insulating. construction comprising a cylindrical shell composed of vitreous material and provided at one end with a depression surrounded by a shoulder and provided with a sealing tip rojecting outwardly from the bottom of the epression and protected by the surrounding shoulder, the other end of the shell opposite to the sealing tip being of substantially hemispherical contour.

7 A heat insulating wall comprising a plurality of hermetically sealed envelops assembled to form the wall, each envelop inclosing an assemblage of vacuumvinclosing units. I

8. A heat insulating wall comprising a plurality of hermetically sealed envelops assembled to form the wall, each envelop inclosing an assemblage of vacuum inclosing units together with a low heat conductive filler interposed in the interstices between the units.

9. A heat insulatin wall comprising a plurality of hermetical y sealed envelops assembled to form the wall, each envelop inclosing an assemblage of vacuum inclosing units together with a low heat conductive filler interposed in the interstices between the units, and supports at the sides for holding the envelops in place in the wall.

10. A heat insulating wall comprising a plurality of hermetically sealed envelops asseinbled in a plurality of layers to form the posed between the layers and between the envelops in the layers, each envelop incloswall, and low heat conductive gaskets interrier comprising elongated frangible vacuuminclosin bodies arranged transversely of the wall ant? adjacent one with another, and cushioning means interposed between the bodies. r12. In a heat-insulating wall, -a heat barrier comprising frangible vacuum-inclosing cylinders arranged transversely of the wall and adjacent one with another, cushioning means interposed between the cylinders, and a low heat-conductive filler filling the interstices between the cylinders.

In testimony whereofI afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN. Witnesses:

W ASHLEY KELLY, -BERNARD QowEN. 

